Introduction
When I was a boy, my physical education began with physical games and activities conducted on the broad lawns of the contiguous backyards of my hometown neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio. My favorite activities were tumbling, somersaults, cartwheels, and all manner of physical feats. My father had been a champion gymnast in his school years, winning the all-around gold medal in his senior year of high school. His natural and trained athletic skill and his joy of living was passed down to all my brothers and sisters and me, and I see it as the early beginnings of my own path into my career as a movement and life energy therapist. As I grew to be a young man, joyful boyhood games grew into my dedication to an active lifestyle and a fascination with what makes the body work. This found its natural expression for me in music, gymnastics, and dance. I spent many an hour in rehearsal halls and performance stages in secondary school, community theater, college, and into the professional world of stage production. I loved being in my body, singing and dancing and acrobatically moving about. Performance arts gave me an
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